Advocate Condell Offers Free Prostate Cancer Screenings

Advocate Condell Offers Free Prostate Cancer Screenings

Advocate Condell Medical Center will offer free prostate cancer screenings on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

The screenings will be available from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at the hospital, 801 S. Milwaukee Ave. in Libertyville. Screenings will take less than 10 minutes. Results will be mailed to you and your physician within seven days. Appointments are encouraged and can be made by calling 1-800-3ADVOCATE (I-800-323-8622) or by clicking here. The code for this event is 5C11.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness month. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, of all races and ethnicities, other than skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death among men, behind lung cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates about 240,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year, with more than 33,000 deaths from the disease.

The American Cancer Society recommends that men have a chance to make an informed decision with their health care provider about whether to be screened for prostate cancer. They should first get information about what is known and what is not known about the risks and possible benefits of prostate cancer screening. Men should not be screened unless they have received this information.

The talk about screening should take place at age 50 for men who are at average risk of prostate cancer. This talk should take place starting at age 45 for men at high risk of getting prostate cancer. This includes African American men and men who have a father, brother, or son found to have prostate cancer at an early age (younger than age 65). This talk should take place at age 40 for men at even higher risk (those with several family members-- father, brother, son) who had prostate cancer at an early age).